The Whole Revelation of John in Two Treatises, Treatise 2 · Chapter 19
CHAP. 19.
THE ARGVMENT.
Following out the exhortation and commandement of Gods ſpirit in the former chapter, verſe 20. here in this chapter, the whol church of God, vnderſtanding that Antichriſtian enemie of theirs, the Romane ſeat to be ſhortly brought to ruine, and themſelues nowe to be ſtedfaſtlie coupled with their Lorde and ſpouſe, Chriſt Ieſus, doth therefore reioyce and magnifie God. Thereafter followeth a briefe deſcription of the word of God, and how the ſame doth nowe obtaine victory ouer all the enemies, that are conuened againſt it, and how all falſe Prophets, and chief members of that Antichriſtian empyre, are condemned to the vnquencheable fire of hell for euer, as the latter and iuſt rewarde of their demerits, beſide that bodilie vengeance that commeth vponupon the carkaſes of all their aſsiſters.
The Text.
1 AND after theſe things, I hearde a great voice of a greate multitude in heauen, ſaying, Hallelu-iah, ſaluation, and glory, and honour, and power be to the Lord our God.
2 For true and righteous ar his iudgments: for he hath condemned the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, & hath auēged the blood of his ſeruants shed by her hand.
3 And againe they ſaide, Hallelu-iah: and her ſmoke roſe vpp for euermore.
4 And the foure and twentie elders, and the foure beaſts fel downe, and worſhipped God that ſat on the throne, ſaying, Amen, Hallelu-iah.
5 Then a voice came out of the throne, ſaying, Praiſe our God, all yee his ſeruants, and ye that fear him both ſmal and great.
6. And I heard like a voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of ſtrong thū drings, ſaying, Hallelu-iah: for our Lord God al mightie hath reigned.
7. Let vsus be glad, and reioice, and giuegive glory to him: for the mariage of the Lamb is come, & his wife hath made her ſelfe ready.
8 And to her was granted, that ſhee ſhuld bee arrayed with pure fine linnen & ſhining: for the fine linnē is the righteouſnes of ſaints.
9 Then hee ſaid vntounto me, Write, Bleſſed are they which are called vntounto the Lambs ſupper. And he ſaid vntounto mee, Theſe wordes of God are true.
10 And I fell before his feete, to worſhippe him, but hee ſaide vntounto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow ſeruant, and one of thy bretheren, which hauehave the teſtimonie of Ieſus. Worſhip God. For the teſtimonie of Ieſus, is the Spirite of prophecie.
11 And I ſaw heauen open, and beholde, a white horſe, & he that ſate one him was called Faithful and true, and hee judgeth and fighteth righteouſlie.
12 And his eies vver as a flamme of fire, and on his head vver many crownes, and hee had a name written, that no man doeth knowe but himſelfe.
13 And he was clothed with a garmente dipt in blood, and his name is called, THE WORD OF GOD.
14 And the warriers which were in heauen, followed him vppon white horſes, clothed with fine linnen, white and pure,
15 And out of his mouth went a ſharpe ſword, that with it hee ſhould ſmite the heathen: for hee ſhall rule them with a rod of iron for hee it is that treadeth the winepreſſe of the fierceneſſe and wrath of Almightie God.
16 And he hath vppon his garment, and vponupon his thigh a name written, THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I ſawe an Angell ſtand in the ſun, who cried with a loude voice ſaying to all the foules that did flie by the middeſt of heauen, Come and gather your ſelues together vntounto the ſupper of the great God
18 That ye may eat the fleſh of kinges, and the fleſh of high Captaines, & the fleſh of mightie men, and the fleſh of horſes, & of them that ſit on them, and the fleſhe of all free men and bondmen, and of ſmall and great.
19 And I ſawe the beaſt and the kings of the earth and their warriours gathered together, to make battell againſte him that ſate on the horſe, and againſt his ſouldiers.
20 But the beaſt was taken, and with him that falſe Prophet, that wroght miracles before him, whereby he deceiued thē that receiued the beaſtes mark, and them that worſhipped his image. Theſe both were aliue caſte into a lake of fire, burning with brimſtone.
21 And the remnāt wer ſlaine with the ſworde of him that ſits vpō the horſe which commeth out of his mouth, and all the foules were filled full with their fleſh:
Paraphraſticall expoſition.
HEreafter I conſidered, and beholde, the voice of the whole multitude and congregation of Gods true Church, ſaying, a let vsus praiſe the Lord, ſaluation, and glory, honour and power, belongeth to the Lorde our God for euer.
2 For true and righteous are all his proceedings, and he hath juſtly condemned that Idolatrous citie and ſpirituall whore, which poyſoned and infected all people on earth, with her Idolatrous doctrine, and God hath righteouſlie avenged the bloodſhed and cruell martyrdome of his Saintes and ſeruantes, committed by her tyrannie.
3 And againe, and againe, inceſſantlie continued they, ſaying, Let vsus praiſe the Lord, and the griefe of her torment ſhall reſound to the heauens, and neuer ſhall hauehave an end.
4 And all the true profeſſours of the olde and newe Teſtaments, proſtrated themſelues and woorſhipped God, who raigned in his throne among them, ſaying, euen ſo, O Lord, let vsus praiſe thee for euer.
5 Then did the voice of Gods Spirit, proceeding from the throne of his trueth, exhort all his elect ſervantes, both ſmall and great, that feare him, to render him praiſe for euer.
6 And with that was hearde the greate dinne and mightie voyces of all the huge multitude of God his b people, as the reſounding noyſe of manie waters, and of his true Teachers and Prophetes, thundering out Gods praiſes, ſaying, Let vsus praiſe God, for our Lorde God Almightie hath preuailed, and ſhall raigne hencefoorth for euer more.
7 Let vsus be glad and rejoyce, and giuegive to him the praiſe, that hath now vouchſafed to vnite his Sonne, that immaculate Lambe, Chriſte Ieſus, in ſpirituall c ſpouſage with vsus, his holie Church, and nowe is our Church purged from Antichriſtianiſme, and readie decked for him, as his true Spouſe.
8 And hee hath propined and preſented her with giftes and ſhining garmentes of puritie and innocencie, betokening that perfect puritie and righteouſneſſe, that God hath granted to euerie one of her particular ſaints and profeſſours.
9 Then ſaide the Angell vntounto mee, publiſh thou, and ſhew foorth vntounto all men, how bleſſed they are, that are called of God to be participant of that holie d Supper and marriage banquet, whereby wee are vnited and eſpouſed to Chriſt Ieſus, and he ſaid moreouer, all that I hauehave ſaid vntounto thee is of e God, and ſhall ſurely come to paſſe.
10 And I fell downe at his feete to hauehave f worſhipped him: but hee rebuked me, ſaying, Beware thou doe it not, for I am but a ſeruaunt of God, as thou art, and as one of thy bretheren, bearing the teſtimonie of Chriſt Ieſus: woorſhip nothing except God onelie, for wee that doe teſtifie of Chriſte Ieſus, are not God, but Spirites of his prophecie.
11 At this time the Churche of GOD ſhall bee patent and viſible, and therein ſhall bee perfect and ſyncere Profeſſours, and that profeſsion that they doe beare on them ſhall bee of g Chriſt Ieſus, who is called the faithfull and true incarnate worde of God, who doeth judge with juſtice, and fighteth righteouſlie.
12 And with the fierce and fierie eies of foreſight doeth terrifie his enemies, and his heade is crowned with manie victories ouer them, and hee hath a name, whiche none knoweth but himſelfe, euen none doeth knowe Chriſt Ieſus, the verie true incarnate Worde of God, but they who are his myſticall bodie, euen they who are in him, and he in them.
13 His apparell was beſprinkled with the blood that hee did ſhead for our redemption, h as alſo with the bloud of his enemies, whome hee hath troden downe: and he is named that Word of God, that was before all beginning, and nowe hath receiued fleſh.
14 And all the whole Armie and elect Congregation of his true Church, followed his will and preceptes, truelie journeying and traueyling through this worlde in their mortified and regenerate fleſhe, clothed with the garmentes of his puritie and righteouſneſſe.
15 And out of his mouth proceeded true doctrine, piercing and ſubdewing on euerie ſide, the heartes of all Nations, and vnderunder the Scepter of his ſeruitude doeth hee gouerne and ſubdew them: for hee alſo it is, who doeth i preſſe and treade downe theſe wicked and reprobate people, that drinke vp iniquitie, and provoke the vengeance of almightie God.
16 And hee beareth in his badge, the ſtile and title of KING OF KINGES, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 Then I ſawe a mightie k Angell who did awaite vppon the Eccleſiaſticall eſtate, and affayres of the Goſpell, proclayming openlie and patentlie, to all Warriours, Souldiours, and other rauenous people, that dwelled among them of the true Church of God, forewarning them, that they ſhoulde convene and gather themſelues together, againſt that time, which almightie God had appointed for that great ſpoyle, ſlaughter, and bloudſhed, which they muſt eat vp and deuoure.
18 And that then they ſhould ſhead the bloud, and eate vp the rents, and ſpoyle the riches of Papiſticall kinges, and Cardinals, and of their riding knightes and Captains, ſubuerting them, horſe and man: and finallie ſhould deuoure vp and deſtroy all, both free and bond man, both great and ſmall, that were of that ſect.
19 And I foreſaw that the great Romane Monarch, and his confederate kinges and their great Armies had euer conuened together, to fight and rebell againſt that true words of God, that his profeſſours did beare, and againſt all the true Miniſters thereof.
20 And therefore alſo were taken theſe Monarches, and their l Pſeudopropheticall Popes, who had counterfeited miracles, and made lying woonders before them of the Empire, to deceiue all thoſe who did profeſſe obedience vntounto that Empire, bearing the badges and markes thereof, and them that reuerenced the counterfeit Emperors therof: and theſe two, euen ſtraight after this m mortall life, were caſte downe to hell, there to bee tormented for euer, with the burning fire and ſulphurious flammes thereof.
21 And the reſte of their Armie and partakers were altogether ouercome, vanquiſhed and ſuppreſſed by that true and ſyncere doctrine, whiche did proceede from out of the mouth of Chriſte Ieſus, that incarnate and holie Worde, whiche all true profeſſours doe moſte conſtantlie beare teſtimonie of and profeſſe, and all greedie and rauenous people, reuers ſpoylers, and auaritious men, were ſatisfied aboundantlie with the rich ſpoyles, Church rentes, and benefices of theſe Antichriſtian people,
Notes, Reaſons, and Amplifications.
a That Hallelu-iah is interpreted, Praiſe the Lord, read Ierome de interpretatione nominum. This worde, as alſo Amen and Selah, and diuers other Hebrue woordes, as being Vocabula artis, euen notable Theologicall tearmes, that in fewe ſillables doe containe greate matter, are therefore in all tranſlations left vninterpreted, for that S. Iohn himſelf writing in Greek, doth neuertheles retain them in Hebrew, yet in the Paraphraſe wee thinke meete to leaue nothing vnexponed.
b Waters to meane people, and Thunders to meane Preachers, read in the note b Apoc. 14.
c Of this Spouſe and ſpouſage, read the note a Apoc. 12. and our 22. propoſition.
d The parable of this marriage banquet of Chriſt Ieſus, is at length expreſſed in Matth. 22. Hereof the Supper of the Lorde is the perfite type and ſymbole.
e Here is the certainty of theſe prophecies threefoldlie confirmed: firſt, in that they are revealed by an Angell. Secondlie, in that hee teſtifieth that they are of God. And thirdlie, for that in expreſſe tearmes he affirmeth them to be true and certaine.
f O miſerable Papiſts, why goe ye barefooted, and barelegged on pilgrimage, and doe fall kneeling and groueling before your Idolles, adoring either them, or yet at the beſt, thoſe Saints whom they repreſent, ſeeing a more glorified Saint than anie of your Saints (whom for the moſt parte, your ſelues make and canonize) euen an holie Angell, who neuer was a ſinfull man, neuer fell nor made defection at anie time from God, as men Saints a thouſande thouſand times hauehave done, but euer abode perfect and holie, here doeth abhorre and deteſt all kneeling and worſhipping before him, greatlie rebuking Saint Iohn, for meaning and preaſing thervnto, and in expreſſe tearmes, forbidding the ſame, and yeelding the godlie reaſon, that none ſhould bee worſhipped but God onlie. Away, away with your captious diſtinctions of foreign and foreign, and all ſuch viſards as excuſe idolatrie, for here the pure, naked and ſimple worde of God, ſpoken by the mouth, and vttered by the example of this holie Angell of God, and of Gods holie Prophet Saint Iohn, doeth detect all your hypocriticall ſophiſmes. The Lord open your eyes, for in this text among manie moe, doeth the light clearelie ſhine. The ſame example for the more aggreging hereof, is repeated ouer againe in the Reuel. 22.8.9.
g That this that rideth on the white horſe, is the true and incarnate worde of God euen Chriſt Ieſus, appeareth plainelie by the 13. and 16. verſes following, and by the whole harmonicall tokens of this text, and of Apoc. 6.2. conferred alſo with the note d of Apoc. 12.
h Seeing Chriſt the incarnate word of God, treadeth the winepreſſe of Gods wrath, in the 15. verſe, therefore doeth this blood wherewith his garments are beſprinkled, beare the type of the blood of his enemies, which he hath ſhead in the winepreſſe of Gods juſtice, as appeareth by Eſay 63.3. beſide alſo the figure of that blood, which he ſhed out of his body for our redemption.
i To treade the winepreſſe of Gods wrath, doeth here not onelyonly meane, to execute God his latter judgement of aeternall damnation againſt the wicked, as it doeth particularlie meane in the end of the 14. chapter: but it doth meane generallie the execution of all Gods judgements againſt offenders. And in that generall ſenſe, how Chriſt our righteous judge and reuenger doeth tread this preſſe, read Eſay. 63. and Lament. 1.15.
k This Angell certainelie beareth the type of all Gods Miniſters in this age, who ſtanding in the Sun, that is, ſtanding and awayting on the Goſpell and Eccleſiaſticall affaires, openlie and patentlie proclaimed the deſtruction of Babylon, wherby thoſe Rauens and rauenous foules, that flie by the middeſt of heauen, that is the rauenous and greedy people that dwell among them of the true Churche, ſhall be couragiouſlie enanimated to put hande to worke, and ſpoyle that wicked Citie, and eate vp all their riches. So that their greedie auarice in this caſe, ſhall aduance the worke of the Lorde in a part, although the applying therof to the vſe of the true Church, were more the dutie of theſe temporall auarious perſons.
l Here is to be ſeen, what it is to worldlie Princes to maintaine and aſsiſt falſe teachers, for here is not onelie the Pope, that falſe illuder of thoſe of the Empire, throwne downe headlong to hell, but alſo thoſe Monarches and Emperours that aſsiſted him, and ſuch other falſe teachers in this world, in the world to come ſhall participate with them in aeternall torment. And that this falſe prophete here mentioned, is one with the two horned Antichriſtian beaſt, and conſequentlie is the Pope, is prooued in our 25. and 26. propoſitions.
m This lake burning with fire and brimſtone, where theſe imperiall beaſtes, and Pſeudoprophetical Popes ar placed, are torments induring for euermore (as ſaith Saint Iohn, Apoc. 20.10.) and are the ſecond death, euen the death of the ſoule (Apoc. 20.14. and Apoc. 21.8.) and therefore is it neither a temporall puniſhment, neither the fire of Purgatorie, but the aeternal flaming fire of Gehenna, ont of the which there is no redemptiō. And here note againſt Purgatorie, that the Pope himſelfe & his imperial princes, deuiſers and maintainers thereof, hauehave, by this text, no leiſure giuen them to reſort thither, but ſtraightway, while they are skarſe dead, to hel muſt they goe the neereſt way, and therefore ſaith the text here, And theſe two were aliue caſt into that lake, &c. as if he woulde ſay, skarſe is their ſoule and life gone foorth of their bodies, but it is as ſoone in hell, without anie intermiſsion or mediate place. So that they and their ſect hereafter in experience ſhall finde no other Purgatorie to them, but the aeternall flamming fire of hell, nor to the elect, but the bloud of Chriſt, although now they debate Purgatorie by fire and ſword.